It was March and we were running twelve practices a week across three age groups. We needed help but the budget was flat. So we sent an email to our former players. We asked if anyone with a job and a car and a free Thursday evening wanted to run one drill station. Five said yes.
At fifteen and up, we have teenagers with jobs, driving abilities, and time gaps on weekend afternoons. Some of them will volunteer to help us run practice if we ask. Most coaches never ask.
Who they are
Not current players. That dynamic gets complicated. But former players who aged out. Older siblings of current players. Teammates who quit but still want to be around the sport and the people. They’re not getting paid. They’re getting fed, a team shirt, and the authority to own a drill.
What they do
Each volunteer owns one station. Not the whole practice. One drill. One group. Two rotations a session. They show up thirty minutes early, they set up their space, and they run the same thing every week. We don’t have to think about it. They do.
The ask
One season. That’s the commitment. “We need you Tuesday and Thursday, 4:30 to 5:30, for twelve weeks.” Some will do it. Not all. Not even most. But some will.
The structure
We write it down. We send them the drill. We give them the progression. Monday night they get an email: “This week we’re working footwork transitions. Here’s the sequence.” They show up. They run it. We’re somewhere else teaching advanced skill.
What this actually is
This is where former players re-enter the program. This is where we build depth. This is where a fifteen-year-old sees what it looks like to stay connected. We’re not selling them on anything. We’re showing them.
What we get
Four extra drills every practice that we don’t have to run ourselves. Time to work one-on-one with our advanced players. A pipeline of college-bound players who understand our system when we recruit them next year.
It costs nothing. We just have to ask.